RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — In a move that could boost turnout among conservatives, North Carolina Republican lawmakers on Wednesday proposed a constitutional amendment to make clear that only U.S. citizens can vote in the state. It would reshape the language in the books, which already limits voting to U.S.-born or naturalized citizens 18 and older.
A House election law panel voted to put the question on statewide ballots in November, when races will be held for president, governor and other statewide and legislative elections. Republicans themselves have enough members of the General Assembly to initiate the referendum if they agree on the idea.
Republican lawmakers in at least six states have already agreed to impose non-citizen voting measures on the fall ballots, including Wisconsin, another presidential battleground. Supporters elsewhere have emphasized the Republican campaign theme that immigrants who enter the country illegally at the Mexican border could somehow vote in this fall’s high-stakes elections.
It is already illegal in the US for non-citizens to vote in federal elections. And North Carolina’s current state constitution states that voting is limited to “every person born in the United States and every person who is naturalized, 18 years of age,” provided they meet other qualifications. The Republican-backed amendment would rework the sentence to read: “Only a citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age.”
The bill’s lead sponsors — including House Speaker Tim Moore — have said the proposal is about preserving election integrity and preventing potential foreign influence in elections.
Another sponsor, House Rules Committee Chairman Destin Hall, told the committee that some have suggested that the Constitution’s current language “could be a floor increase rather than a ceiling on who can vote,” and that “the fear is that a future court might decide that that is not a restriction on everyone being able to vote.”
Some local jurisdictions – including San Francisco and the District of Columbia – have begun allowing non-citizen immigrants to vote in local school board or city council elections. Hall mentioned the large number of recent illegal border crossings from Mexico while discussing the need for the language.
The proposal “makes it absolutely clear and removes all reasonable doubt that only citizens can vote in our state’s elections,” he said.
Democrats on the committee criticized the proposal as unnecessary and a waste of time and resources. State voter registration applications already make it clear that voting is limited to citizens, and that lying about it on the form is a low-level crime.
“I feel like we’re chasing a problem that doesn’t exist,” said Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Democrat from Guilford County. “It appears we are creating a situation that could chill the desire of new citizens to vote.”
A 2016 election audit in North Carolina found that 41 legal immigrants who had not yet become citizens had cast ballots, out of a total of 4.8 million votes cast that fall. The state now has nearly 7.5 million registered voters.
The federal prosecutor’s office in eastern North Carolina said in 2021 that it had charged 24 people over the past 18 months while investigating allegations of voter fraud, including allegations of noncitizens voting illegally or falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to register to vote.
Ann Webb of the electoral association Common Cause North Carolina spoke out against the referendum at the committee, calling it an “attempt to spread lies that challenge our elections and divide us, fostering an environment where prejudice and violence can thrive.” ”
Although constitutional amendments are not subject to Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto, proposals cannot go before voters until 72 of the 120 members of the House of Representatives and 30 of the 50 members of the Senate vote “yes.” Republicans have exactly that number of members in the respective chambers.
A simple majority of voters in November would have to vote yes on the referendum question for the language to be included in the Constitution.
Pro-amendment speaker Kevrick McKain of Americans For Citizen Voting, a national organization that seeks to promote amendments to make voting the exclusive right of U.S. citizens, said an amendment would “give we the people the right to consent to the law of our state, instead to leave the state vulnerable to interpretations.”
A House committee must now approve the measure before it can go to the House for a full vote.
Senate Majority Leader Phil Berger appears open to the idea.
“I think you can make a legalistic argument that something like this is already prohibited,” Berger told reporters in late April. “However, I see no harm in including that as a constitutional amendment. We’ll see if there’s enough.” support.”
___ This story has been corrected to show that the group is Americans For Citizens Voting, not Americans For Citizens Voting, and that its representative is Kevrick McKain, not Kevrick McCain.
